Nevada Public Radio Statement of Diversity Nevada Public Radio serves a region that is iconic and distinctive. Our geography includes the grandeur of red rocks and the Mohave Desert and the allure of the Las Vegas Strip. More often than not, Nevadans have chosen to make this region home. As of 2017 NVPR continued our expansion to become a statewide broadcaster with the acquisition of FM signal in Reno and Carson City. Our broadcast content now reaches a region defined by the Sierras and Reno’s economic renaissance. Reflecting the diversity of our region goes beyond the applicable laws around gender, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, ability, or genetic predisposition. For NVPR it also includes our rural non-urban audiences and those with who seek out our content through non-traditional public media outlets. We are committed to attracting and retaining audiences who are new to public media yet resonate with the core values expressed in the excellence of our content and the independent nature of our media organization. We will reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and the audiences we attract: • Through our governing and community advisory boards • Through our hiring practices, workplace culture and executive leadership; and by: • The acquisition and creation of content on air, online and in print • The practice of original journalism and content creation in story selection, sourcing, and production • Creating points of connection in person and online • Participating in the life of the community and elevating philanthropy by leveraging our public media assets • Facilitating sustainability and success through corporate partnerships and sponsorship • Inviting and nurturing individual support from those who choose our media services • Making business decisions with companies, foundations and organizations aligned with shared values as described above when all other factors are equal • Using the resources available to us through our local and national affiliations to build on our efforts over time • Recognizing and celebrating milestones in our efforts Diversity Goal: Nevada Public Radio will document and measure annual progress toward the dimensions of diversity outlined in our statement and report to the NVPR Board and to the public in our Annual Report. On October 23, 2014, Nevada Public Radio received a quorum of votes via electronic communication to approve the NVPR Diversity Statement and Goal as written. NEVADA PUBLIC RADIO Diversity Report 2020 Human Resources All positions hired in the last 12 months have received our usual focused attention to recruitment via avenues that will reach diverse candidates. Identification of recruitment efforts are documented in the 2020 FCC EEO report posted on the NVPR website. This will showcase positions hired from June 1, 2019- May 31, 2020. Those hired from June 1, 2020-May 30, 2021 will be published in our 2021 FCC EEO report that will be on our website in June 2021. As of November 2020 NVPR, total employees = 38 57.9% male 42.1% female 73.7% white 26.30% racially or ethnically diverse Median age: 43 26.3% Baby Boomers 34.2% Generation X 39.50% Millennials News Diversity is highlighted in our current three-year plan (FY17-18 thru FY 19-20) with the following goals for audience growth: • FY17: 25‐54 year‐olds are 41.9% of our weekly audience. Target for end of TYP: 50%. • FY20: 25-54 listeners are 46.6% of our audience. We are not where we hoped to be three years ago, but we are moving in the right direction. Since the start of the pandemic, the percentage has grown to 51.2%. • FY17: total weekly audience is 135,100. Target for end of TYP: 160,000. • FY20 weekly audience: 141,400 (note that FY20 includes the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that saw radio listening decline by up to 30%; the six months in FY20 before the pandemic’s onset averaged 159,500 weekly listeners) • FY17: African American & Hispanic listeners are 26.1% of weekly listeners. Target for end of TYP: 30% • FY20: 25.8% (NOTE: in FY20 Black/Hispanic audience varied quite a bit from month to month, with figures as low as about 17.5% and as high as 34.5% - three of the last four months in FY20 saw figures above 30%) It is a considerable understatement to say that the COVID-19 pandemic derailed the audience goals we put into place beginning three+ years ago. Marketing Our ongoing efforts to offer a variety of perspectives on the most important issues is essential in making sure our audience reflects southern Nevada’s full diversity. Over the past 4 years, self-awareness has been an important part of our marketing strategy to make our brand more relatable and more inviting to more people. During this time, the number of people age 18 – 44 who engage with Nevada Public Radio through social media has increased 25%. We are continuing to leverage those gains by raising awareness of programming such as Louder Than a Riot, It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, Code Switch, Throughline, Race and Racism in Nevada, Native Nevada, and even original scripted content like Theater on the Air! – all of which offer diverse voices and storytelling. State of Nevada Las Vegas is one of the most diverse cities in the country, one of the first minority-majority cities in the U.S. Our program State of Nevada is moving in a way reflective of the city’s demographics. In Fiscal 2019-20: We recorded or aired live 657 segments. Of those 657 segments, 334 involved either topics or guests identified by the federal government as being in a protected class. That comes to just about 51 percent. Desert Companion In the past year, Desert Companion has taken considerable steps to embrace diversity in its coverage, particularly by expanding its pool of freelancers to include those in touch with traditionally under- covered parts of the community. Thus, 2019 saw Desert Companion venturing into cultural coverage that not only introduced our readers to unfamiliar facets of Las Vegas, but also held the promise of attracting new readers. Examples include Frank Johnson’s August profile of Adja’s African Hair Braiding Salon (a story about the how the salon operates as a community hub for the African American community), Zoneil Maharaj’s June profile of rap music producer Pat Hundley; and Maharaj’s November issue story about the North Las Vegas hip-hop scene and the sense of civic identity and pride rappers express in the music, and award-winning contributor Kim Foster’s July food feature, “How to Eat a City,” reflected many distinct communities of Las Vegas as she prepared and ate meals with a range of Southern Nevada families who immigrated from elsewhere — including Mongolia, Ethiopia, and Iraq. Beyond specific stories, diversity is a recurring key process element in conceiving, discussing, assigning, and producing Desert Companion feature packages. In features that rely largely on profiles — such as our artist profiles in the Fall Culture Guide or our home design profiles in our April issue — reflecting Southern Nevada’s diverse community in terms of race, culture, gender, and geography as a guiding principle. Desert Companion continued this initiative in 2020. Most significantly, on July 9, 2020, Desert Companion held a live Zoom roundtable on racial justice, “Every Voice: Race, Protest, and Power in Las Vegas,” moderated by writer Erica Vital-Lazare. In this roundtable discussion, activists, artists, policymakers, and scholars explored complex questions arising in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, which sparked nationwide protests and a national conversation about race. Guests included Aaron Ford, Nevada Attorney General; Tenisha Freedom, organizer, and activist; Tyler D. Parry, Assistant Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at UNLV; Reverend Vance “Stretch” Sanders, Baptist youth pastor; and Lance L. Smith, a multidisciplinary artist, illustrator, and teacher. The 90- minute roundtable drew about 60 attendees on Zoom, and hundreds more on the Facebook Live simulcast of the event. Since this event, Desert Companion has published, and plans to continue publishing, local stories considering systemic racism and the impact and implications of the Black Lives Matter movement. Finally, Desert Companion’s internship program has proved promising as a driver of newsroom diversity, particularly in encouraging young women in pursuing journalism careers. In 2019, the magazine took on five interns, four of whom were female. Interns work closely with the Desert Companion staff — attending editorial meetings, pitching, researching, and writing enterprise stories — and are paid for published work. Summer Thomad, a Fall 2018 Desert Companion intern, recently announced her acceptance as a 2020-2021 winter/spring intern at NPR’s Code Switch, a podcast exploring race. Mya Constantino, a Fall 2019 intern, recently joined the Review-Journal as a Fall 2020 intern, and recently landed a front-page story on bicycle safety initiatives in the Las Vegas Valley. Underwriting Our sales staff are regularly engaged with Chambers of Commerce that serve the diverse communities of our metropolitan and rural coverage area. NVPR is a sponsor of many events that speak to inclusion, education, and diverse populations, including: The Gay and Lesbian Center’s Annual Honorarium, The Las Vegas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce “Senoras of Excellence / Senores of Distinction”; UNLV’s Education Summit, Human Rights Campaign Annual Gala, Vegas Chamber of Commerce’s annual Installation Luncheon, and many others. Artist in Residence During our twice-annual fund drives, KNPR invites listeners to support the independent news & journalism produced by Nevada Public Radio through their individual financial support. Listeners join the ranks of membership, and at certain levels, receive “thank you” items in recognition of saying “yes” to membership. From 2015 through 2019, our Nevada Public Radio “thank you” items included sweatshirts, t-shirts, coffee mugs, and pint glasses branded with unique artwork designed by a special Artist in Residence for that corresponding year.